see also: in November 2007 News Releases:   CBP Officers Seize 50 Pounds of Cocaine, Three Pounds of Heroin, Guns & Ammo, Arrest 22 For Illegal Entry and Arrest 20 Fugitives During Two-Week Holiday Span at Laredo Port of Entry   Border Patrol Agents Arrest Convicted Sex Offender   Border Patrol Seizes One Ton of Marijuana at Sierra Blanca Checkpoint   Border Patrol Yields $3.7 Million in a Day’s Seizures   Border Patrol and Coast Guard Sign Cooperation Agreement   CBP Seized Cocaine Concealed in Suitcase   Border Patrol Agents Seize 5,450 Pounds of Marijuana Near Freer ...more on cbp.gov:   CBP News Releases   Press Officers

contacts for this news release

Tucson, Ariz. – Border Patrol Agents assigned to the Tucson Sector arrested six men with extensive criminal histories this week in four separate incidents.

Border Patrol Agents encountered and arrested Jose Arceo-Vasquez, a 45-year-old Mexican national, near Sells, Ariz., on Nov. 8, 2007. Once processed at the Casa Grande Border Patrol Station, the Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System (IAFIS) revealed that he had been convicted of "Accessory to Murder" by the Los Angeles Police in 1988. In 1996 he was convicted by the Los Angeles Police of "Felon in Possession of a Firearm". Arceo-Vasquez was also convicted of "Burglary" and "Grand Theft" in Los Angeles in October 2006.

A second subject, Manuel Sanchez, was apprehended on Nov. 9, 2007. The man, a 41-year-old citizen of the United States, was caught driving a vehicle containing 358.20 pounds of marijuana. Once processed at the Nogales Border Patrol Station, IAFIS revealed that Sanchez had been convicted of "Burglary" in Chandler, Ariz., in 1984 and "Kidnapping" in Globe, Ariz., in 1993.

A third individual, a male citizen of Mexico, age 37, was also arrested on Nov. 9. It was discovered through processing at the Naco Border Patrol station via IAFIS that the man had two existing warrants from the Los Angeles Police Department for "Dangerous Drugs".

On Nov. 10, 2007 a male 32-year-old subject from Mexico, who was processed at the Nogales Border Patrol Station was discovered to be the principal suspect in a homicide investigation in Phoenix, Ariz. The discovery was made using standard criminal record background investigations performed during routine processing.

Two additional subjects with extensive criminal histories were arrested on Nov. 12, 2007. Fernando Pech-Salzar, age 39 and David Morales-Castillo, age 22, both citizens of Mexico were taken to the Tucson Border Patrol Station, where processing via IAFIS revealed that Pech-Salazar was convicted of "Lewd and Lascivious Acts with a Child under 14 years of age by Force" in California in 1994. The man was also convicted of "Re-entry of an Aggravated Felon" in 2002 after attempting to illegally re-enter the United States again. Morales-Castillo was found to have been convicted of "Murder, Second Degree" in New York in 2005.

All of the men have been processed and are being held in custody pending prosecution or extradition for warrants.

In fiscal year 2007 there were more than 41,000 criminal hits identified by IAFIS in the Tucson Sector.

To report illegal activity anytime and remain anonymous, please call 1-800-USBP-HELP.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security charged with the management, control and protection of the nation’s borders at and between the official ports of entry. CBP is charged with keeping terrorists and terrorist weapons out of the country while enforcing hundreds of U.S. laws.